I will follow you into the dark
by Chev 7
Summary: When someone that you love is hurt, what measures will you take to save them?
1. Chapter 1

"I'm sorry, her injuries are far too severe...I estimate she has an hour left. Maybe two if she fights."

_This can't be right...this can't be happening. It wasn't supposed to be like this! We were all supposed to get out of this alive!_

Naruto looked down at the broken body of Hinata Hyuga and nearly burst into tears as he looked down at the scars and bruises that littered her body. He could hear the nine-tails laughing at his despair from deep inside his mind.

He ignored the laughing and instead turned to look at Shizune and Tsunade who were standing by her bedside. "Come on! There has to be something that you can do! Your the legendary medical nin. The hokage! You have to be able to do something!"

Tsunade shook her head as the tears continued to fall from her face. "If we had gotten to her earlier we might have been able to save her. But Naruto...I'm sorry. I know how much Hinata meant to you. How close the two of you got after the war. If you want...I can let you say goodbye in private but you need to realize that she's not going to make it."

Naruto nodded as the tears continued to roll down his face. Even if he had wanted to get rid of the tears there was no way that he could stop them now. "Did you at least catch the person who did this?" He sobbed.

Tsunade's eyes flashed as she shook her head. "It looks like he took his own life when he realized that there was no way out. I'm sorry Naruto, if we had taken him alive you know that I would have let you have first crack at him."

Naruto didn't respond as he continued to look down at the broken body of his former friend. He had sometimes wondered what would have happened if they had become more than close friends. She had saved his life during Pain's attack on the village but he had never had the opportunity to talk to her. He should have made the time but...to be honest he had no excuse for what he had done. He should have made the time to talk to her, to think about the feelings he had begun to develop for her. At first he hadn't known what the feeling was until he had talked with Kakashi.

The feeling that he was feeling for her was love.

He hadn't known at first and it had taken quite a bit of soul searching on his part. But after many months of thinking and getting helpful advice from his friends he had finally figured it out.

Only to have Hinata be attacked a few days later, by a rouge cloud ninja who had managed to attack her while she had been sleeping. It was a coward's attack and the cloud ninja had taken his life when faced with the prospect of fighting off the enraged Neji hyuga who had arrived only a moment later. Naruto looked up at the ceiling and continued to let the tears flow down his face.

_It's not fair..._he thought angrily. _Hinata saved me when it looked like Pain had me and this had to happen to her!_

The nine-tails that had been oddly quiet for a few moments laughed insanely. The Nine-tails had seemingly lost it's mind after Naruto had managed to separate the fox from it's chakra and at times was quiet but other times it would laugh for hours on end. Naruto sighed.

_Will you shut up? _

The fox laughed again and for the first time in quite awhile it seemed to lose it's insanity for a moment as it spoke. _No...I don't think I will. It's a shame really...you have access to all my chakra and yet you have no idea of how to use it! With my vast amounts of chakra anything is possible!_

Naruto stopped short for a moment as the fox began to laugh again as it's sanity vanished once again. He silently cursed the fox. If only the thing hadn't seemingly gone nuts he could have asked it for more information.

He thought for a moment as a sudden idea came to him. Before it had gone insane, the fox had at times been able to access certain memories. Wouldn't it be possible for him to do the same now that he had drained it's chakra?

He let himself go into his mind, where the fox was chained to the floor. It began to laugh again at the sight of him but did nothing else except struggle against the chains that were holding it. Naruto approached it. He knew that the fox would hate him even more once this was done but he didn't care. It no longer had access to the majority of it's chakra thanks to him and it already hated him.

He stood still for a moment as he reached deep into the fox's mind and was momentarily surprised by how much the fox was resisting him. He pushed himself through the fox's mind with more force than before, witnessing some of the memories that the fox still had. He witnessed atrocities that the fox had committed against villages that he had never even heard of, and most likely would never see as he witnessed their destruction, he saw brave heroes standing up against the demonic creature and falling against it's considerable power.

_This thing has been around a lot longer than I thought_...Naruto couldn't help but think as he continued to go through the memories. The deeper into it's memories that he went the harder he was finding it to go forward. The fox was resisting his attempts to discover it's secrets.

_Come on...just a little bit more._ Naruto thought desperately as he continued to search through it's memories. He could barely keep his hold on the fox's mind with the amount of force it was now throwing at him.

He finally saw what he was searching for...it looked almost like a metal box that was jeweled with precious stones and crystals. He smiled and attempted to reach it only to feel something pulling his arm back. The fox was now fighting with all it's remaining strength to keep him away from it's secrets. Naruto struggled forward with all of his remaining strength and finally managed to grab the box with his hand. He laughed in excitement as he opened the box and he stopped as he heard the sound of a roar echoing all around him.

_This information...it's exactly what I need!_ He thought as he quickly began to withdraw from the fox's memories. The fox was growling and roaring insanely as Naruto finally managed to withdraw from it's memories. He smiled a dark smile at the fox. "Thanks for the information," was all he said as he left the confines of his mind.

_Rest assured boy...this will not be forgotten!_ The fox roared at him as Naruto left it alone to it's insanity.

Naruto's eyes opened once again as he found himself leaning over a chair. He must have fallen over while he had been struggling with the fox. He looked down at Hinata's body and smiled gently as he reach for her hand, oblivious to the fact that Tsunade was watching from the doorway. "It's okay Hinata-chan..." He said quietly. "I think I found a way to bring you back."

Tsunade quietly stepped into the room. She didn't make a sound as she gently laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I'm sorry Naruto...but there's nothing that can be done anymore."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, the smile having vanished off his face at Tsunade's words. "I...just found a way to help her! What do you mean there's nothing that can be done?"

Tsunade sighed heavily. "You were out for nearly a day Naruto. We couldn't figure out what had happened to you, After around an hour I figured out what happened and told the others that you were to be left alone."

Tsunade stared at him. "You risked an encounter with the fox didn't you? You thought that it might have information that could help Hinata."

Naruto looked down and nodded slowly. "Yeah I did...and I actually managed to find something that could help her." He looked down at the body and noticed that many of the bruises and scratches were gone. A tube was feeding some sort of liquid into her body.

Naruto slowly turned and looked at Tsunade.

"What happened while I was out?"


	2. Chapter 2

"What do you mean she won't wake up? And why the hell would her father try something like this? Hasn't he caused her enough grief already?"

Naruto Uzumaki was shaking with barely controlled rage as he looked down at Hinata's still form. He could feel the tears of anger flowing down his cheeks as he looked down at the tubes that were feeding nutrients into her body. The elation that he had been feeling a few minutes ago was gone, it was rapidly being replaced by anger, confusion and despair. He continued looking down at Hinata even as Tsuande gently grabbed him by the shoulder.

"You have to understand, a man in Hiashi's position either has to choose between the demands of the clan or his daughter. If you ask me...he made the wrong decision. The clan demanded that Hinata be put on life support until another decision deciding her fate can be made. But something else seems to be wrong...something with her mind."

A few of Naruto's tear dripped from his face and landed on Hinata's blanket. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that she won't wake up. We've tried everything to bring her out of her coma but nothing seems to be working. All the techniques that we used only seemed to make it worse. To be honest, I don't know what we should do next."

The tears were running down Naruto's face and continued to fall onto Hinata's blanket. All that trouble that he had gone through with the fox...It had all been for nothing. Naruto sank to his knees in front of the bed and laid his head on her bed. He didn't even look up as the door to the room opened. "I'm sorry Lady Hokage. Am I disturbing you?"

"No...I was just telling Naruto what happened while he was...indisposed. What news do you bring from the Hyuga clan?"

"I...It's not good news Lady Hokage. The clan took a vote and the majority has ruled that they don't believe she can be saved. They have ruled that the feeding tube is to be removed and that she be allowed to...pass on. I'm sorry. I know this isn't what you wanted to hear but the clan has ruled." The hyuga clan member paused. He didn't feel comfortable being in the same room as Naruto. "I don't think that Naruto should be in here...when it happens."

As Tsunade and the Hyuga clan member continued speaking a sudden thought came to his mind. A thought that he disregarded at first because it seemed to good to be true. He slowly raised his head and looked at Tsunade. A plan was starting to come to mind. A plan that he had the fox to thank for. He could still hear the thing growling at him from inside his mind but he payed it no heed.

If I could go into the fox's mind...whats to stop me from going into Hinata's mind and finding out whats wrong and fixing it? I can save her if this works right! I can make sure she wakes up!

"I...can I have a few minutes alone with her? I...just want to talk to her for awhile. Get some stuff off my chest before...it happens." Naruto lied. He looked directly over at Tsunade and the ghost of a smile appeared on his face. Tsunade apparentlydidn't see the facial motion and nodded. "I'm sure we can give you as much time as you need Naruto. Just...get everything off your chest."

The hyuga clan member nodded as well. "I'm sorry it had to end this way...but I believe that the clan will allow you to have a few minutes with her."

Naruto wiped the tears away and smiled sadly at the two of them as they quietly left the room. Naruto looked down at Hinata and smiled slightly. "It's alright Hinata...I think I have away to bring you back. Just hold on for awhile longer."

Naruto made a series of complicated handsigns and than placed both of his hands on Hinata's head. A small pale blue light appeared in the center of her forhead. The blue light became a darker color and spread across her entire head until her entire head had a blue tinge to it. Naruto's face was twitching as the jutsu began to take effect.

_Just a bit...longer!_ He thought desperately as his vision began to go black. He could feel something happening to him as the world continued to go black around him. At the last second before his vision finally went totally black he thought he heard the faint sound of sobbing.

_Uhhh...where am I?_

The sound of sobbing filled his ears. He couldn't tell if it was simply dark or if his eyes were closed.

_I'm weak._

_I'll never amount to anything._

_Where is that sound coming from?_

Naruto looked up into the darkness and saw a small point of light that seemed to be quite far away but was slowly getting closer. The harder he looked and the closer it came to him the more of a shape it took on. Naruto slowly walked towards it and finally saw what is was.

It was a girl. A girl that looked exactly like Hinata except...younger. The closer he looked at her the more he seemed to realize that she was about the same age she was back during the chunin exam.

"Hinata!"

_So weak...I wonder why my father hasn't killed me yet. I deserve it. I still can't believe that Father hasn't made Hanabi the number one child yet._

"Hinata...that really sounds like your voice. But why are you saying things like that? Your one of the strongest people I've ever met."

_No...so weak. I couldn't beat Neji...and I couldn't even beat my younger sister._

"Hinata!" Naruto shouted out desperately as the faint form of Hinata walked right past him and continued on towards the darkness. "That's not true! You managed to fight Pain! You saved me from being captured and killed! You've become stronger and more confident ever since that day back in the chunin exams!"

The figure of the younger Hinata stopped but didn't move. Naruto took that as a sign to keep talking. "Hinata...you've accomplished so much since you became confident. You were able to save my life...and I don't think that I'll ever be able to thank you for doing that."

The younger Hinata turned back and looked back at him and a very small smile appeared on her face and she finally spoke. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Do...Do you really think that Naruto-kun? "

Naruto smiled at her and nodded. "Of course I do Hinata."

Before Naruto could say anything else, the vision of Hinata smiled and began to glow as a white light enveloped her. Naruto could barely see her through the light but what he could see left his mouth wide open in shock.

Hinata was rapidly aging in front of him. Even as he looked on the white light faded and a small smile was on her face. "Thank you Naruto-kun...but you still need to continue on. There is something else wrong."

Before Naruto could say anything the vison of Hinata vanished and the area he was in was covered in darkness once again. He quickly looked around and saw a red light ahead of him. He quickly walked towards it and then put his hand near the light and quickly pulled it back as a voice echoed through the darkness

"You still need to save me...Save me from the darkness."

A small white light appeared. The light quickly became a bright light that made him shut his eyes as it became too bright to look at. As soon as the light faded her opened his eyes and saw a scene that made his mouth open in shock and his eyes widen in fear.

He was in the middle of a battleground.

He saw hundreds of Konoha ninja fighting against some sort of shadowy figures that were killing dozens of them at a time only to have them rise up and fight against them again only to be killed again.

_What...What is this? It's like some kind of nightmare!_

"Hinata!" He shouted out urgently as he quickly looked around the battleground to see if he could find her somewhere in this battlefield.

Abruptly the shadowy figures and the Konoha ninja vanished like smoke. Naruto tried to see through the smoke but couldn't see a thing.

_She can't hear you. Not anymore._

Naruto quickly looked around. The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere. "What do you mean? And where the hell is Hinata?"

A figure walked through the smoke and smiled. The figure was wearing a black jonin jacket and had a headband that had a scratched out symbol of the village hidden in the clouds. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the figure.

"In life I was known as Kitaru of the Hidden Cloud Village. And I was the one who was responsible for the attempted kidnapping of the Hyuga girl."

"What did you do to Hinata? Where is she in all of this?"

Kitaru smiled and threw a kunai on the ground in front of Naruto. "Your little friend is under the influence of the last jutsu I was able to perform before I was forced to kill myself. In a few hours...her mind will be under my complete control and she will awaken. I won't survive for more than a few days after I take control but still, I will have completed my mission. Despite being a missing-nin, my name will finally be spoken of with honor in the hidden cloud village! No more will my family be disgraced!"

Naruto made a quick series of handsigns and five shadow clones appeared. He reached for the kunai and dropped into a battle stance. "I take it that once your dead you won't have any influence in Hinata's mind. If killing you is the only way to free her then so be it."

Kitaru smiled darkly and made a series of handsigns and than slammed his hand into the ground and a wave of earth surged up from the ground and slammed into one of Naruto's shadow clones that didn't manage to dodge in time. The clone vanished in a puff of smoke and kitaru laughed as Naruto formed a blue spinning ball in his hand and ran at him. He continued laughing even as two of Naruto's clones shot up from the ground and held the missing-nin's arms in place so he couldn't defend himself.

Kitaru laughed as Naruto struck him with the rasengan only to have him vanish in a puff of smoke and appear behind the real Naruto.

"I'm so close to taking complete control of the Hyuga girl's mind that I can do whatever I wish in here! There's no way that I can be defeated by you!"

_Not...as long as I'm still here_. A voice whispered. The voice was instantly recognized by the two combatants and Naruto grinned as Kitaru's face went while from shock.

"Impossible! I managed to lock you away! You can't be here!"

A small swirling light appeared in front of the two combatants and it began to glow with a white light as it grew taller and taller until it was the size of a normal human being. A familiar figure walked out of the light and blushed as she turned to look at Naruto.

"Thank you Naruto-kun...for helping me wake up. For helping me fight my doubts." Hinata Hyuga smiled as she dropped into a fighting stance and an uneasy look appeared on Kitaru's face. He knew that he no longer had the power to control everything that happened here.

"I will not be denied my redemption!" Kitaru shouted as Hinata rushed at him as two blazing lion's heads made of raw chakra appeared in her hands. Kitaru made a series of handsigns.

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Jutsu!"

Hinata quickly jumped into the air as a massive stone dragon erupted from the ground and rushed at Hinata who managed to quickly jump out of the way while still hitting the stone creation with one of her chakra infused hands. The strike from Hinata managed to cut a deep gash into the stone creature. A big chunk of the stone dragon fell off and the creature vanished into a massive cloud of dust.

Hinata landed next to Naruto and the two of them both dropped into fighting stances as Kitaru began to make a series of very complicated hand signs and one of his hands began to glow with yellow chakra as he slammed it into the ground and a massive lightning bolt struck him and his entire body began to glow with yellow chakra.

Kitaru smiled. This was his ultimate technique. A jutsu that empowered his body with lightning, making him even more dangerous than usual. He smiled as he jumped into the air and brought both of his hands down on Hinata who quickly jumped back. Her eyes widened in alarm when she saw the damage that the strike did to the ground. There was now a massive hole in the ground where she had been standing only a moment ago.

"Hinata..." Naruto whispered as the Hyuga girl focused chakra to both of her hands once again and created the twin lion's heads and ran at Kitaru who held up one of his hands and caught one of her hands. Hinata gasped in pain as she felt the electrical chakra slowly begin to burn her hand. Naruto could see that kitaru was begining to feel the effect of the blue chakra on his hand and he was wincing in pain.

I've stood by long enough! I came here to save Hinata and that's what I'm going to do!

Naruto made a series of handsigns and a dozen shadow clones appeared in puffs of smoke. Naruto began to form a blue ball of chakra in his hands and was about to run at him when Hinata managed to bring her other hand around and strike the hand that had was gripping her other hand. Kitaru shouted out in pain and for just a moment Kitaru lost his grip.

That was all the opportunity Hinata needed.

She quickly pulled her hand back and struck Kitaru in his side with her left hand and than struck him in the center of his stomach, sending him flying up into the air.

"You got him Hinata!" Naruto shouted out as he dismissed the shadow clones and watched as Hinata jumped up into the air and struck him three times with her gentle twin lion fists. The first two struck him on both of his hands and then the final strike hit him dead center in the chest and he slammed into the ground.

Kitaru tried to get to his feet only to collapse back on the ground. "I-Impossible..." He whispered. "I...locked you away...how did you return? And how did you manage to beat me?"

Hinata didn't answer as Kitaru finally fell back and his body vanished without so much as a whisper.

Hinata turned to Naruto and smiled as her face turned slightly red. "T-Thank you Naruto. For saving me."

Naruto ran over to her and hugged her. Hinata's face turned a deeper shade of red. "I didn't save you Hinata." He said quietly. "You managed to beat him all on your own. All I did was help you fight your doubts. You managed to take care of him yourself."

Before either Hinata or Naruto could say or do anything a white light filled the area and a voice was heard.

_I can't believe he tried this! Doesn't he get how dangerous this is!_ Tsunade's voice echoed trough Hinata's mind.

_Lady Tsunade! We're showing increased brain waves in Hinata! Somethings happening!_

_Naruto...if your in there, you need to get out now! If your in there when she wakes up you'll be stuck in there or you could badly hurt Hinata!_

Naruto smiled slightly. "I'll see you in a few minutes Hinata...and we'll have alot to talk about once we're both awake."

"I-I'd like that Naruto."

Naruto smiled and his vision quickly went black as the jutsu lost it's effectivness.

**Konoha hospital**

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and instantly closed them again as the eyes of Tsunade turned from worried to angry.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that technique was?" She said in a voice that was quiet but filled with worry and anger. "I leave you alone for thirty minutes and...you know what? I shouldn't be surprised. I should have known that you would have taken any risk to save Hinata."

He opened his eyes once again as he heard Tsunade walk over and began talking to a member of the Hyuga clan. He couldn't help but overhear some of the conversation.

"-Shouldn't be concerned about Hinata any longer. The danger has passed and the clan ordered her off life support anyway! Go back to Hiashi and tell him that Hinata is under my personal protection and that if tries to go near her I'll deal with him myself. Am I understood?"

"Yes Lady Hokage, but what of Naruto? He managed to save Hinata that much is true, but when Hiashi finds out what he did he may be in danger."

"Naruto can take care of himself. He's proved that many times over. Now...head back to Hiashi. I need to talk with Naruto and with Hinata when she wakes up."

"Yes Lady Hokage." The hyuga clan member said as he slowly backed out of the room.

Tsunade turned to look at Naruto and then at Hinata and sighed heavily. "Let me know when Hinata wakes up. She needs to know what happened when she was attacked and what he clan tried to do. I'll be back shortly."

Naruto watched as Tsunade left the room and quietly closed the door behind her. Naruto then turned to look at Hinata who was starting to move slightly as she started to wake up. He smiled as she finally opened her eyes and looked around in confusion.

"It's okay Hinata..." He said quietly. "After the attack they took you to the hospital. You've been here for about a day and a half."

Hinata looked around and then finally turned to look at Naruto. "N-Naruto-kun...what happened? The last thing I remember was seeing a stranger standing over me and then...and then I had this dream...you were in it."

Naruto smle faded for a moment. "You were attacked by a missing-nin from the village hidden in the clouds. He...managed to do alot of damage before Neji went after him. In the end, he took his own life but not before he was able to transfer his spitir into your mind."

Hinata's eyes widened in suprise. "Then that dream...it wasn't really a dream was it?" She asked quietly. "He was inside my head...and so were you."

Naruto looked at the floor in shame. "I'm sorry Hinata, it was the only way to wake you up. But I swear, I didn't do anything. In fact I wasn't really the one who managed to defeat him. It was you. All I did was help you overcome your doubts." He looked up at her and smiled causing her cheeks to turn red. "You managed to defeat him all on your own."

Naruto reached out and gently wrapped his hands around hers. Her face turned a bright shade of red as she smiled. "Tsunade is most likely going to be here soon to talk with you." Naruto said quietly as his own face turned slightly red.

"And after she's done speaking with you...I'd like to talk to you about something. Something important."


	3. Chapter 3

((I am so sorry for the delay, I've been busy with quite a few RL issues and work. Depending on what you guys think, I might add an epilogue.))

"You do realize that your lucky that I refuse to allow your father anywhere near you? I realize what I'm saying may be hard for you to take in your current condition but he was prepared to end your life rather then risk you becoming a liability to the clan."

Hinata's eyes were red with tears as she listened to what her father had tried to have done to her. Naruto's fists were balled up in anger as he watched the tears fall from her face. "I...I understand Lady Hokage...but why are you protecting me? My father is the leader of one of the oldest and most powerful clans in the village. Aren't you worried that he will try to take me back anyway?"

Tsunade smiled a very dark smile that sent shudders down Naruto's back as she spoke three words that chiled him to the bone.

"Let him try."

The dark smile vanished moments later as a normal one took it's place. "Until this is all sorted out, the two of you will be staying in the hokage's tower. I'll have Shizune clear out one of the rooms and put down some blankets. This may take a few days to work out."

Naruto was about to speak when Tsunade raised her hand and motioned for him to be quiet. "I realize you think that you can take care of yourself but you need to look at this from my perspective: You two are still a bit weakened by what you endured and Hiashi Hyuga most likely won't take this laying down. Until I'm sure that you are strong enough to protect yourself against him I'll be keeping an eye on the two of you, and I'm sure that Hinata's instructor won't let any harm come to either of you."

Tsunade looked down at the two of them and smiled again. "If either of you two need anything just ask Shizune when she comes by. Right now though, I think the two of you should rest. Rest assured that nothing will happen to the two of you as long as I'm around."

Tsunade closed the door and Naruto looked over at Hinata as he heard her sigh heavily. "Hinata? What's the matter?"

The former hyuga heiress looked down and Naruto saw a brief smile on her face. "You were...in my head Naruto-kun...I need to ask you...when you were in there did you see anything? Or were you too busy helping me fight off the cloud-nin?"

Naruto was taken a bit off guard by the question but decided to anwer truthfully. "I...uh...well...yeah I did. When I first entered your mind it was just complete darkness...and then I saw you. You were sad...alone..and you said things that made me fear for your safety."

"I...remember." Hinata said quietly as she looked up at him. "You.. you helped me...saved me from myself."

"Hinata I didn't do that. I helped you overcome you doubts. You managed everything else on your own." Naruto took a deep breath as he tried to speak the next words that would come out of his mouth. "When...When I saw you fighting the cloud nin...I was reminded of how you saved me from Pain, when you risked your life to save mine. You gave me the strength to fight back and save the village. When I saw you fight him...you said that you loved me."

Naruto was silent for a moment as he tried to form the words. He had been thinking about what he would say for a long time...since the battle with Pain actually.

"I...was too stuck on bringing sasuke to see what you had done...to hear what you said. I'm so sorry that this took such a long time to say but...I've been thinking about what you said. And I've been trying to think of the right words to say."

He closed his eyes for a moment and then felt a soft hand grab his. He knew who the hand belonged to and he smiled as he opened his eyes again and spoke three words that he knew that the hyuga girl had been hoping to hear for years.

"I love you."

He turned away for a moment and then turned back and his eyes widened at the sight that he saw. Hinata's eyes were full of tears but she was smiling brightly. And at that moment Naruto knew that the tears were tears of joy.

"Hinata...I..." Naruto didn't even get a chance to finish speaking before Hinata closed the distance between them and he felt her lips brush against his.

Naruto was startled for a moment but then he quickly found himself returning the kiss. Hinata pulled back for a moment and then smiled brightly at her. "I was going to ask you if you still loved me...even after all the time it took me to talk to you but I guess I just got my answer."

Hinata smiled and leaned towards him again and once again Naruto felt her soft lips against his and once again he found himself returning the kiss.


End file.
